Trump kept up with Putin, sent Covid tests, book says
The revelation comes courtesy of a new book by Bob Woodward
What happened
Donald Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin several times after leaving office and sent him scarce Covid-19 testing machines for his personal use at the start of the pandemic, Bob Woodward said in his upcoming book "War." Woodward also details President Joe Biden's battles with Putin and his contentious relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu.
Who said what
Biden's "frustration and distrust" of Netanyahu erupted last spring, when he concluded the Israeli prime minister was interested only in his political survival and "had been lying to him regularly" about Israel's plans in Gaza, Woodward wrote. "Bibi" was a "son of a bitch" and a "bad f--king guy," Biden reportedly told an adviser.
Trump spoke privately with Putin as recently as early 2024, Woodward reported, citing a Trump aide who also said the two leaders had spoken as many as seven times since February 2021. It is "highly unusual" for former presidents to secretly converse with an "avowed adversary of the United States on the opposite side of a war," The New York Times said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Citing Woodward's book, Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Trump on Howard Stern's radio show Tuesday for reportedly sending Russia's "murderous dictator" rare Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines in about May 2020, when "everybody was scrambling to get these kits" and Americans were "dying by the hundreds every day." It was Putin's idea to keep the gift secret, according to Woodward. Trump told ABC News that Woodward was a bad "storyteller" who had "lost his marbles." His campaign said, "none of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true."
What next?
"War" is set for release Oct. 15. Biden is scheduled to talk to Netanyahu on Wednesday, for the first time in seven weeks, about Israel's plans to strike Iran, Axios said.
-
5 fairly vain cartoons about Vanity Fair’s interviews with Susie WilesCartoon Artists take on demolition derby, alcoholic personality, and more
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s WifeIn the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women
-
Codeword: December 20, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Why does Trump want to reclassify marijuana?Today's Big Question Nearly two-thirds of Americans want legalization
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Why does White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles have MAGA in a panic?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Trump’s all-powerful gatekeeper is at the center of a MAGA firestorm that could shift the trajectory of the administration
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
‘It’s another clarifying moment in our age of moral collapse’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
